El derecho a estar presente en el juicio en el proceso penal y las garantías procesales en la jurisprudencia del Tribunal de Justicia : Sentencias del Tribunal de Justicia 16 de enero de 2025, asuntos C‐400/23: VB y C‐644/23:IR) (1)

The two recent judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered on 16 January 2025 address fundamental aspects of the right to be present at trial in criminal proceedings and the conditions under which trials in absentia may be conducted, as established in Directive (EU) 2016/343 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016, which strengthens certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and the right to be present at trial in criminal proceedings (hereinafter: Directive (EU) 2016/343). The legal basis, as set out in the preamble of the Directive, is found in Articles 47 and 48 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFREU), and its objective is to harmonize certain aspects of criminal adjudication among the Member States. Below is a joint commentary on the two judgments (C‐400/23 (VB) and C‐644/23 (IR)), highlighting the main subject matter under analysis, a summary of each case, the relevant legal framework, and the CJEU’s ruling.